By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
The exclusion of Prison Service and Namibian Police members from certain provision of the Labour Act is a major problem facing trade unionism in Namibia and other Southern African countries, according to a local trade union.
Trade unionists raised the issue at a press conference on Tuesday, following a two-day SADC sub-regional conference on Sustainable Human Development for Workers that ended on Saturday.
“The Public Service Union of Namibia started and continues to spearhead the fight against the exclusion of the Prison staff from provisions enshrined in the New Labour Act.
“In our quest to resolve the issue, we have formally contacted the National Assembly, the Minister of Labour, the Ministry of Justice as well as the Attorney General, but to no avail,” said PSUN executive member, Mahongora Kavihuha.
In his view, the exclusion was a serious error and contrary to all national and international legal instruments.
“The exclusion is retrogressive and must be opposed. In this regard, we have made representations and have had contacts with a wide range of institutions, personalities and groups that share our sentiments about the exclusion.
“Our latest attempt was to bring the matter to the attention of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which will now take the issue further on our behalf,” he said.
PSUN is urging the government not to enact the legislation and to refer the bill back to the National Assembly.
“We urge the government to seriously consider including the Namibian Police in the Labour Act and be part of the few progressive African countries that have taken the initiative to unionise their police forces,” he said after the meeting attended by representatives from Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia.
The president of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), Hango Paulus, emphasised the importance of creating a conducive working environment and better living standards for all workers in a joint declaration on behalf of the four Southern African trade unions.
“The necessary steps need to be taken to correct existing income disparities and to ensure that decent work be at the centre of economic growth. The meeting also urged the development of supportive alliances with workers in the informal economy,” he said.
According to Hango, the meeting resolved that agriculture be made a compulsory subject in Southern African schools from elementary level.
“This is necessary to ensure that learners be taught basic agricultural methods for better food production for the masses, as well as to provide the thousands of Grade 10 failures in Namibia some sort of skills to practise agriculture”.
He said that basic services such as the provision of water, health and electricity be provided free of charge to citizens.
“The meeting also urged its members to promote more awareness, voluntary testing and counselling on HIV/Aids and to ensure Southern African governments provide equitable grants to HIV/Aids victims,” he concluded.